We all instantly recognize the Lincoln Memorial next to the tidal basin, a feature of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, on the national Mall. While Abraham Lincoln is one of our best known U.S. figures, his Memorial is a unique blending of historic setting and architecture, as well as the president’s sculpted figure.

Of all the monuments and memorials found in Washington, D.C., perhaps none is more imposing than the Lincoln Memorial. Located at the western end of the long park known as the national “Mall” and at the end of the “Reflecting Pool,” the Memorial has two primary components – a classical columned structure designed by Henry Bacon and a monumental statue of a seated Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. So important is this memorial in America’s consciousness that it appears on the obverse of the American penny (and, seen faintly on the penny, French’s statue can be found).

The Lincoln Memorial was authorised by the Washington D.C. Commission of Fine Arts on July 17, 1911. The Commission asked Henry Bacon to design the memorial which was to house a statue of Lincoln. French was Bacon’s personal choice for a collaborator for the statue and on June 27, 1913, Bacon’s plans were accepted and work on the Memorial began on February 12, 1914.

Daniel Chester French began work on the design for the statue in 1915, making many bronze and plaster models. French used Lincoln’s life mask as well as casts of Lincoln’s own hands as models and also consulted photographs by the noted photographer Matthew Brady. After various modifications, the final statue stood 19 feet tall, not including the pedestal. Sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers (French’s long time sculpting collaborators), the statue was completed on November 19, 1919. Carved in 28 sections of Georgia marble, the statue was transported to Washington D.C. and in place for the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 20, 1922.

Concerns about the lighting of the statue persisted for several years; the original lighting cast Lincoln’s face in a ghostly darkness. New lighting was installed in 1926 which to this day shows French’s statue of Lincoln in a dramatic fashion at all times of the day and night

The enormity of the statue can only be appreciated when seeing it up close; several photos below showing young children at the base of the pedestal provide some perspective. French’s “Lincoln” is certainly his most well known statue and in its setting in the Lincoln Memorial, by far his most widely beloved.

The monumental qualities that make this artwork outstanding in our national consciousness are many. The stature of the man, the quality of its setting, the perfection of the monument and striking image of the statue combine to make it part of our national consciousness.

Marian Anderson, singing My Country Tis of Thee at the Lincoln Memorial, thanks to herself and the good offices of Eleanor Roosevelt. (Anderson was the first African American to perform at the memorial of the Great Emancipator.)

Well, mods, you may think you fixed things by putting in a picture of the real Lincoln Memorial, but it is the Jefferson one that is “next to the tidal basin, a feature of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.” (I’ve lived in DC for over 50 years; trust me.)

It sits on The Mall in Washington DC at the opposite end from the US Capitol, as if to invite those in Congress to ponder its meaning every day. It sits on a line between the State Department and the Pentagon, as if to speak to diplomats and generals alike. It sits between the White House and Arlington National Cemetery, as if to speak to the president of the costs of war.

Sadly, all too many members of Congress, all too many diplomats and generals, and all too many presidents fails to grasp what Lincoln understood all too well, which is inscribed on the north wall inside the memorial:

With malice toward none and charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, for ourselves and among all nations.

As a nation, we are all too comfortable inflicting wounds rather than binding them up, and those who have borne the battle and the widows and orphans end up paying the price yet again.

It’s a shame that we try to make these politicians bigger than they are. Lincoln was an excellent orator, just like the one we have now. I’d hate to see statues of Obama, but it will probably be added to the Corporate Mall coming to D.C. in the near future.

A quick review of the history books show that the rich didn’t make any sacrifices in that war either, and the concentration camps rivaled anything the Nazi’s had.

Welcome to FDL

Sign in with Facebook or Google+

OR use your MyFDL username

Toolbox

MyFDL is Firedoglake's community site. Anyone can participate by commenting on posts or joining groups to find other people in your area. Content posted to MyFDL is the opinion of the author alone, and should not be attributed to Firedoglake.